All the Difference
by Andria J Brenson
Summary: Edward left Bella broken, but not before impregnating her. In the midst of her grief, she doesn't recognize the tell-tale signs of a pregnancy. Her best friend does, however. Jacob becomes her anchor and helps her through her depression. The presence of a baby makes all the difference in the world. Will Edward be too late? Rated M for mature language and mild innuendos
1. Chapter I The End

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my vampire/human hybrid, Hanneli. She belongs to me. Everything else is Stephenie Meyer's**

* * *

_"Bella, we're leaving."_

_"My world is not for you."_

_"Bella, I don't want you to come with me."_

_"Of course, I'll always love you ... in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm ... tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I am not human. I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that."_

_"I would like to ask one favor, though, if that's not too much. Don't do anything reckless or stupid."_

_"And I'll make you a promise in return. I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I'd never existed."_

_"Don't worry. You're human. Your memory is no more than a sieve. Time heals all wounds for your kind."_

_"Goodbye, Bella."_

_"Take care of yourself."_

* * *

The goodbye rang true and final in her ears as she watched him leave at a human's pace. Of course she could have followed him, but what was the point in that? He didn't want her and no matter how hard she tried, nothing would change that fact.

Watching him disappear through the trees, tears overflowed and stung her cheeks as they cascaded down her face. The life she had come to love was over. The man she had relied on was gone. This was the last page in the book of her life with Edward Cullen. His last words rang true and final. "Goodbye, Bella. Take care of yourself." Those were the last words she would ever hear him say. Bella wished desperately that there was some way she could bottle the words up so they might never fade from her memory.

"Wait!" she called to the nothingness ahead of her. Even though she knew without a doubt he was long gone and couldn't hear her, she called out his name as she stumbled forward a few steps then broke into a run.

"Wait! Edward, please stop!" yelled a distraught Bella. She hadn't said a proper goodbye and it agitated her. How could he leave before she said goodbye? Did she not deserve to tell him "Be safe" as well? It wasn't fair. He got to say goodbye. Why didn't she?

"Wait, Edward!" she called out desperately one last time before tripping over a tree root. Bella didn't bother to pick herself up off the ground. It was pointless in her eyes.

Through her sobs, she managed to say, "Goodbye Edward. I love you."

* * *

Time seemed irrelevant as she lay on the forest floor crying. It could have been minutes, hours, or days that had passed when she began to faintly hear someone calling her name over and over again.

"Edward?" she managed to whisper, thinking maybe he had come back after all. Her throat was hoarse from the crying and she couldn't manage anything louder. As the voice grew louder she realized it was not one voice, but rather many separate voices. And none of them belonged to him. Who was she fooling? He wasn't coming back. He didn't want her. Not now; not ever. Bella stopped trying to respond. It didn't matter to her. She didn't care that the voices sounded worried and scared. None of it mattered. Not without Edward.

Bella Swan felt empty. She was an abandoned hermit crab shell. He out grew her and moved on, leaving her to be pummeled by the ocean and rocks.

An indefinite amount of time passed as she half listened to the voices. They would get louder, signaling close proximity then fade away once again.

At some point she must have fallen asleep because the next time someone drew close enough for her to hear the footsteps, she looked up and didn't believe what she saw. Standing in front of her was what appeared to be a black wolf, though she couldn't be certain in the darkness. The wolf looked to be the size of a bear, if not bigger. Slowly, as if trying not to scare her, the wolf backed away until it was completely hidden by the brush once again.

After what felt like only a few seconds, a man emerged from the place the wolf had been.

"Bella Swan," said a voice that was deep and unfamiliar to her. Unlike before, this man was not calling her name in search, but rather acknowledging that the girl had been found.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my mind, I had always imagined her to be slightly stronger than she is portrayed to be in New Moon. I intend to write her that way.**

******Also, as you can see in the image, I do not support Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. I firmly believe that Danielle Panabaker or Anna Popplewell should have played Bella.**

**This will be a mostly Jacob/Bella story with only little bits and pieces of Edward/Bella. **

**Another warning, my vampire/human hybrid _will not _be like Stephanie Meyer's. I own Hanneli, the hybrid.**

**The next chapter has north of 3k words and will be posted in a week or when I get two reviews**


	2. Chapter II Breakfast

**I decided to go ahead and upload it with the minimal editing I have already done. I will come back and do more editing later**

Bella escaped the incident mostly unscathed, physically. Minor abrasions were the only physical scars she would have to remember the incident. However, the same could not be said for her mental health. Those who knew her before the Cullen's departure saw the shell of the girl she used to be.

The weeks following "the break-up", as it quickly became known around town, were filled with visitors bringing their sympathy and reheatable lasagna for the Swan household. For Charlie and Bella, it brought a somber routine as well.

Bella woke up early, made coffee and toast, and walked to school. Every day. And every day she would sit at the Cullen's old table, alone. She was the perfect student, never talking in class and always turning in every assignment. Homework was her first priority when she arrived home and dinner was started at five-thirty. The lasagna was always burned due to her lack of attention and pizza was ordered when Charlie arrived home at seven. Bed time was eight-thirty, by choice, for the high school junior.

* * *

"Bella?" Charlie began cautiously as they sat at the kitchen table, eating the pizza dinner. Well, he was eating. She was picking at the slice in front of her with a fork, as she always did. On a good night, she ate maybe three bites. On a bad night, the pizza would be mutilated by the time she finally scraped it into the trash. It had been three weeks since this routine had started the day after "the break-up"

"What? Did you say something?" she asked a few moments later, looking up with a blank expression on her face.

After clearing his throat, Charlie continued, "Bella, I think this has gone on long enough. Don't you agree?"

"What's gone on long enough, dad?" she replied, confused.

"This!" he exclaimed, waving his fork in her direction. "Look, I understand that you are upset over the Cullen's leaving but it's not like they died! Can't you just email them?"

"Sure, dad," replied a resigned Bella. It wouldn't exactly be easy to explain to her father that she was the sole reason for the Cullen's departure and had she had no way to communicate with any of them.

"And this whole walking to school thing isn't going to fly anymore. It's going to start getting colder soon. If there's something wrong with your truck I can take a look at it or maybe you could take it to Jacob. When was the last time you saw him?"

"I don't know dad."

"Bella, is there something wrong with your truck?" he repeated.

"It just, er . . . it keeps making this noise. Your right, maybe I'll take it to Jacob tomorrow and have him fix it," she told him. The response was partially to appease his obvious need to see her leave the house and also due to the fact that the 'noise' wasn't really something she could ask him to fix without more questioning.

"Good, I'll tell Billy to expect you tomorrow," Charlie told her so she couldn't back out

"Good," Bella agreed, successfully putting an end to the conversation. With a sigh, she picked up her plate and scraped the untouched food into the trash. "I'm going to bed, see you in the morning, dad."

* * *

The next morning, Bella woke to the smell of something burning. Looking at the alarm clock on her night stand, she groaned. It was seven forty-five. She would have to drive to school or risk being late.

Slightly worried about the smell, the young girl hastily dressed and took the stairs two-by-two. The scene that greeted her in the kitchen might have been comical to anyone else. Pots and pans on the stove were smoking, the oven timer was going off, and her father was swatting at the smoke alarm with a broom like a mad man.

"Dad? What are you doing?" she asked, trying to make sense of what she had walked into. In a normal house it would have appeared to be breakfast gone wrong but that didn't make sense because Charlie Swan never attempted to cook. It was safest for everyone.

"Well, I thought I'd make you breakfast, Bells!" he said sheepishly, turning to face his daughter.

With a sigh, Bella took the broom from him and flipped the switch on the smoke alarm before pulling the burning biscuits out of the oven and turning the fire off on the stove.

"While, I appreciate the thought and effort, maybe next time you should stick to our agreement. You know, the one that says 'Charlie Swan will not attempt to cook, ever'? This is the reason for that agreement dad!" she reprimanded her father.

"Sorry, Bells," he apologized, "Just thought it might be nice to make something for you. We could go to Black Bear Diner instead?" he suggested hopefully

"Are you serious, dad?" she scoffed, "It's going to take forever to get the gunk off this and it's already seven forty-five! I'm going to be late for school!" Bella complained.

Charlie laughed, "Bella, calm down! It's Saturday, you aren't going to be late for anything!"

"Oh," she said with a hint of relief and confusion. Looking at the calendar, she saw he was right. "Don't you have to work?" she asked, a bit hopefully.

Charlie shook his head, "I've got today off. Say, how 'bout I invite the Clearwaters and the Blacks to join us at the diner? We were planning on fishing today anyway, if the weather was good. And it looks like sun so far. This will make it easier! I can drive Billy back to the reservation and you and Jacob can go back to his place together." Before she could protest, he had already dialed Harry Clearwater's number and was proposing the idea to him, which was agreed to, as far as she could tell.

"Hey Bells, you call the Blacks, alright? I'm going to go get ready," he said tossing her the phone, which she failed to catch.

"Sure dad," she mumbled sarcastically as he jogged up the stairs. Bella searched the contacts for the number she knew was pre-programmed into the phone and hit the 'talk' button once she found it.

"Hello, Charlie!" said the old voice she immediately knew belonged to Billy Black.

"Hi Billy, its Bella," she replied trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

"How are you holding up, Bella?" he asked, seeming genuinely concerned for her well-being unlike most people who stopped by.

"I'm doing alright, Billy," she assured him in her most convincing voice, "Thanks for asking. My dad and I are going to breakfast at Black Bear's and we were wondering if you would want to join us. The Clearwaters are coming too."

"Sure, Bella. Sam and Emily are here right now, I trust I can extend the invitation to them as well?"

"Uh . . . yeah! No problem!" Bella replied, cringing mentally. The party just kept getting bigger and bigger.

"Alright Bella, I'll see you soon!"

"Yeah, see you soon Billy!" she replied with fake enthusiasm before hanging up the phone.

"Dad! Billy's bringing Sam and Emily!" she called up the stairs.

"Sam - the one that found you - Sam?" he asked.

"Yes, dad! The one that found me. Do we know another 'Sam'?" she asked, irritation clearly showing through. Bella wanted to just forget the whole thing ever happened but it was pretty hard when everything reminded her of it.

"I was just making sure, hon!"

"Whatever, dad!" Bella mumbled sarcastically. "Are you almost ready? They are going to beat us there!" she called up impatiently

"Why don't you call ahead and make sure the diner will have a table ready?" he suggested

"Dad, it's Forks! There is always a table available!" she reminded him

"Just call in case! It is Saturday!"

"Fine!" she picked up the phonebook and flipped through until she found the two-page spread advertising the only semi-formal diner in Forks. Her father came down the stairs freshly washed and in fishing attire as she hung up after making a request to reserve a table for ten. The waitress had made it sound like she had never served so many people at once in her life. She probably hadn't.

Half way to the diner, Charlie broke the silence. "I don't hear anything wrong, Bella. Are you sure there's something wrong with the truck, Bells?"

"Positive, dad! Maybe you just can't hear it. It's there, though. You have to listen really carefully. It wasn't there before," she assured him vaguely.

"Well, alright then, Bells. Just don't you be wasting Jacob's time. If there's nothing wrong with it then I'm sure you two can find something else to do!"

She pulled into the diner parking lot and parked next to Harry Clearwater's car. "I told you they'd beat us!" she muttered getting out.

"Hi Bella!" she was greeted by a tall, reedy boy that looked quite a bit like a younger version of Jacob.

"Hi, you're Seth, right?" she asked.

The girl beside him snickered. "I told you she wouldn't remember you!"

"Yeah, and this is my sister Leah!" he said enthusiastically, ignoring his sister's comment.

"Hi, Leah, I'm-"

"I know who you are," she said, coldly, cutting Bella off before walking inside.

Harry and Charlie followed the young girl with Sue Clearwater trailing behind.

"You want to head inside?" Seth suggested, scratching the back of his neck.

"Maybe I should wait for the Blacks and Sam and Emily," Bella told him, hoping to be able to sit alone for a few minutes. She walked around to the back of her truck and lowered the tailgate to sit. He followed like a faithful puppy. Alone time was too much to ask for apparently.

"Yeah, good idea! I'll wait with you!" Seth agreed sitting next to her. "So, do you have any plans for today? I am meeting some friends at the beach after this. I don't think you know them but you could come, anyways!"

"Actually, Seth, Jacob was going to take a look at my truck today," she told him. His face fell visibly and, unable to bear letting him down, she amended, "But maybe after he's done we could meet you down there?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool! Oh look, there's Jake, now!"

Bella looked up to see Jacob bounding across the parking lot toward her. By the time she stood up he had already crossed the remaining distance and was pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"Jake! Can't breathe!" she reminded him.

"Sorry Bells!" he said letting her go. "So how've you been?" he asked before cringing. "Never mind, that's a lame question, don't even answer that! How is your truck? Charlie said there's a problem with it?"

She couldn't help but laugh at his faux pas, even though it was partially at her expense. "Yeah, it's been making a noise. I'll explain once we get back to the garage, if that's okay," she told him, closing that discussion.

"Yeah, definitely. Let's go inside, Sam and Emily will catch up with my dad. Hey, when you meet Emily, don't stare, okay? Sam doesn't like it." Jacob warned his best friend.

Bella glanced over her shoulder, curious as to Jake's meaning as the boys walked inside. She followed behind and sat next to Jacob, who had Seth on his other side. There was an open chair next to her which meant either Emily or Sam would be sitting next to her.

When the missing trio walked into the diner, Bella saw why Jacob had warned her. Emily's obviously beautiful face was distorted by three deep scars running down the right side of her face and pulling down the corners of her mouth and eye. Remembering what Jake said, Bella returned her gaze to the menu she held and contemplated who would be less awkward to sit by. The man who found her alone and crying in the woods or the man's fiancé whose face was grotesquely distorted as if she had been mauled. She didn't have much time to dwell on it, however, before the seat next to her was occupied by Emily Young.

"You must be Charlie's daughter, Bella. I'm Emily," she introduced herself with a lopsided grin due to the scar pulling down the right corner of her mouth. Emily's voice was soft and melodic, calming, in a way.

Bella returned the smile, "It's nice to meet you." Once she looked up, Bella couldn't take her eyes off the scars.

"It was a bear," Emily told her quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"I don't mind, really! Sam hates it but I don't mind. I'd stare too if your face was scarred," she told Bella, easing the tension effortlessly.

"That must have been awful," Bella sympathized; happy the attention was off her for the most part.

Emily smiled and nodded, "At first it was, but Sam was there. We helped each other through it. I mean, we were hiking together at the time and he was just really torn up that he didn't protect me. It's funny, I think I ended up comforting him more than he, me. That's what brought us together. If that hadn't ever happened, I wouldn't be planning a wedding right now. Horrible things have to happen in order for good things to fall together, sometimes."

The words played over in Bella's head and she somehow felt as if they had a double meaning, like Emily had meant them for her as well. "That's kind of romantic, in a way," Bella said softly.

"Yeah, it was. Do you want to split the omelet and waffle combo with me? It sounds good but I really don't think I could eat that much food!" Emily suggested with a small laugh.

"Me either! That's good with me!" Bella agreed.

"What are you two whispering about?" Jacob asked loudly, bringing the whispered conversation to the attention to the rest of the table and causing both girls to jump.

"You!" Bella lied smoothly, watching as his face went from amused to concerned.

"What about me? What's she telling you Bella?" Jacob asked, glaring at Emily

"Nothing, I was just telling her about what Billy told me happened last month!" Emily replied smoothly with a wave of her hand. The conversation had caught the attention of the rest of the table and every member but Leah, who was talking on the phone, watched as Jacob blanched with embarrassment before his hands started to shake and his features were warped by anger.

"What the hell, dad? You swore you wouldn't tell anyone!" he yelled before slamming his cup down on the table as he stood up from the table. "I'll be outside," he mumbled as he walked towards the door.

"I was just kidding!" Emily said biting her lip. She looked to Sam whose eyes were locked with Harry and Billy's. All three nodded in a silent agreement.

"Maybe you should go talk to him, Bella," Charlie Swan suggested.

Bella nodded and followed the young Quileute boy out of the restaurant. After looking around a bit, she spotted him sitting on the curb next to the flowerbeds. "Hey Jake, can I sit with you?" she asked softly.

"Whatever, Bells," he muttered, turning his face from her.

Bella sat down next to him and lifted one of his big, deeply tanned hands in both of her own. "Jake, we were kidding. Emily doesn't know anything. We were talking about splitting an omelet. Don't you think you might have overreacted just a little bit?"

"Yeah, I guess I did," he admitted looking down at his hand in hers. She was tracing the lines on his palm with her finger. "I don't know why I got so mad. It's not even that big of a deal. It's like something in me just snapped! I've been feeling like that a lot lately. Like everything is a big deal," he admitted.

"I know how you feel! Since um . . . since-"

"The break-up?" he suggested softly

"Yeah, that. Ever since then it's like nothing matters as much anymore. I can't even find the motivation to live," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "Maybe we can help each other," she suggested, "I will help you stay calm and think things through, and that'll be my motivation to get up every morning."

"Sounds good to me!" he consented. "Think we should go back inside?"

"Not yet, it's peaceful out here." Bella leaned her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh

After a few minutes, Jacob's curiosity got the best of him and he broke the silence, "So what were you guys talking about, then? I really doubt you talked about sharing an omelet the whole time!"

"Emily's scar. Isn't it so romantic, Jake?"

"Not really!" he teased, "You are such a girl, Bella Swan! A sappy, emotional girl! She's mauled by a bear and you think it's romantic!"

"Shut up, Jacob Black!" she said hitting his shoulder, "I'm going inside!"

* * *

"You and Jacob should come over for lunch today, Bella. It's usually just Sam, Paul, and Jarod. I can't remember the last time I had a girl to talk to. I think Sam wants to talk to Jake anyway. Think about it, alright? Jake knows where we live," Emily said before hugging her and walking to hers and Sam's car.

"Sure, Emily," Bella said despite her being out of hearing range already.

"Come on, Bells! Get in!" Jacob called from the driver's side of her truck.

Bella shook her head and laughed, getting in the passenger side. "Is this legal, Jake?"

"You missed my birthday, Bella! I'm seventeen now!" he reminded her

"Right, well, it's still a year younger than me!" she retorted.

"Age is a number; you have to factor in height and skills too. I'm easily ten years older than you!" he told her proudly.

"Sure, Jake! You believe whatever you want," she dismissed him easily.

"So what's this noise you needed me to fix? I don't hear anything wrong," he asked, listening intently.

Bella sighed, "No, you wouldn't be able to right now." She fiddled to the radio until it came on, "You hear it now?"

"Your radio? What's wrong with it? It looks brand new!" he said looking down at it for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

Bella nodded, "It is. It was a gift. I want it out. You can have it, just as long as I don't have to see it again."

"I'm guessing it was a gift from-"

"Yes." She said curtly, ending the discussion.

"I'll see what I can do. So, Seth said you told him we would meet him at the beach afterwards? I'm not sure how I feel about you making plans for me. If this relationship is going to work you need to be more open!" he joked.

Bella laughed with him, "Your kind of amazing, you know that Jake?"

* * *

**AND SCENE! **

**Hope you enjoyed that; please review! This chapter sets up everything for the rest of the story. **


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